Writing Circle Blog 2

During our previous writing circle, I came up with my a topic that I feel relates to me in many ways.  Our group discussed the various different types of education and how each applies to certain families and communities.  For example, we discussed the difference between Hawken and South-Euclid Lyndhurst school systems.  I think this relates to Chapter 15 of The American School.  I found this chapter to be really interesting because it gave an overview of what is currently happening in the government's educational solutions.  The government is currently facing a huge problem pertaining to economic problems effecting school systems all over the country.  When I visited both schools, I really did enjoy both them.  However, Hawken was much nicer and I could tell that much more money was spent into every aspect of the school.  I got the chance to meet the teachers in both schools and I really did like all of them.  They all seemed to truly be there for their students and really enjoy themselves with their interactions with them.

I noticed in Hawken though that parents played a huge role in their children's education.  There were parents everywhere; in the halls, in the classrooms, in the offices.  They even seemed to stay around after dropping off their children, which made me kind of confused in a way.  At South-Euclid the only parents I saw were those picking and dropping off their children.  Both parents at each school seemed interested in their child's education and happy.  This made me wonder, is there a line of intrusion for parents in their children's lives?  It was obvious that parents at Hawken paid a lot of money each year for their children to attend the school, which in my opinion is fine because they want their child to have the best.  But......what is the best education?  Is Hawken that much better of an education than the public school right around the corner?  

Another thing that I noticed that there was little, to no diversity in the classrooms at Hawken.  Where as in South-Euclid Lyndhurst, there was diversity everywhere.  I student taught in a low-income school back in Columbus, where there was also a great deal of diversity.  I had the chance to compare that school to another upper-class community and I noticed many differences.  The teachers in the low-income schools had much more to deal with, and many more differences to accommodate.  I'm not saying that those schools are better, but I am saying that it seems extremely unfair that some children have a significant amount of opportunities, where as some children face very little chances.